#6 June: Haim's new album ‘I Quit’ has been out for a week now and this is what i think (I like it btw)
+ The usual Dublin exhibition reccs
2025 is so for the girls. SO. FOR. the girls. We have new albums from CMAT in August, Olivia Dean in September, and have already had album releases from Little Sims and Japanese Breakfast, and last Friday Haim delivered us their 4th Studio Album ‘I Quit’ which may or may not be a studio album as I don’t know constitiutes ‘studio’. But here are my thoughts, mostly on the singles which were released ahead of time - 1. Because I have more thoughts about those due to the amount of hours listened, and 2. because some of the songs are still (seamlessly!!) blending together in my mind and I can’t differentiate them yet, and that particular day for music releases (& gigs) (last Friday) popped off (CMAT, Olivia Dean, Lorde, The Mary Wallopers).
Off the bat for me it’s an album that seamlessly (^) blends between songs, which allows for a full album listen through which I don’t often get, and haven’t gotten from Haim since ‘Days are Gone’.
Opening with ‘Gone’ which samples George Michael’s ‘Freedom!’ and for me personally is giving ‘Sympathy for the Devil' vibes? means that the album ~for me!~ is being set up as like I’m finally free and I'm also going to be a bit bould, which some could say is over done in every empowerment breakup album ever but Danielle is newly single and she should get to sing about that, and loads of other people are newly single and those new songs should exist for them too!! The second song on the album, ‘All Over Me’ which accompanies the third music video (!!), is undeniably horny, but like - more subtle than Gasoline - also a sexy song which I love from ‘Women in Music pt.III’. We then get into ‘Relationships’, ‘Down to be wrong’ and ‘Take me back’ which were all released as singles ahead of the album, meaning I’ve had enough time to mull them over and have very in depthish annoying conversations about them.
Relationships is a word that is so earnest and almost cringy that it's almost jarring both in terms of the title and the first verses opening word and also to be repeated so often throughout the song. And my guestimate & my take on it is that’s one of the whole points. Because even though it takes up so many conversations and is a focal point (sorry not sorry?) of many catch ups with all of my friends, whether it be breakups, weddings, situationships (bleugh), new loves, or lack of any at all, whether it's something that you even really want or its because ‘it’s just the the thing our parents did’, it’s jarring because we're not supposed to care, or we’re supposed to be very cool girl chill. The word has been chilled out and slangified to going out, hooking up (american), or even dare I say ridin’ ha ha he he. I had a conversation in the car yesterday with Jasmine about TikTokification of words. TikTok words and the loss of our language, and whether we’re becoming dumber because we use the word slay. But I think that tone is important, and what started out as saying slay as a joke is now very very much part of my daily vocabulary and language, in terms of regarding something as slay and the intonation that it’s said in. I think this song adds to a wider discussion on the earnestness in language, and the fact that Haim is using the word that's reserved for, maybe serious conversations or even arguments? … what do you think about our relationship… but we’re in a relationship … etc etc.. highlights that we don’t need to be so chilled out and cool and need to accept that we really are all fucking addicted to relationships and also addicted to talking about them and I am addicted to listening to this song!!
Moving on, ‘Down to be wrong’, ‘The Farm’ and ‘Love You Right’ are THE breakup songs - banger, beautiful and beautiful respectfully.
Take me back is the energetic one of the album, lusting after nostalgia which again harps back to the whole theme of the album about looking back, both sonically and visually. - On which point I think they have done so well. Coincidently as I was listening to this walking home from the Luas I serendipitously spotted a boy of about 16 in my estate stumbling out of his parents car having presumably been collected from the drunk room. Separately from this moment, I'm obsessed with the line ‘all of my friends I loved, I still love - And all of my lovers are locked in time’ because yes I do and yes they are. ‘Lucky Stars’ - also a bop.
What I would personally - because this is a personal ~ think.piece. ~ and music is subjective!! So don’t @ me if I’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick on any of this - but what I would personally describe as 30’s dread is emulated in ‘Everybody’s trying to figure me out’ from the line ‘lost count of the ticking clocks’ which need not be explained. But for the repetitive outro of ‘You think you're gonna die but you're not gonna die’ for some reason, whether this be intentional or not, a few repetitions in starts to sound like ‘you think you're gonna thrive but you're not gonna die’ which is both daunting and reassuring at the same time. Don’t know what else to say on that song about 30’s and also maybe now existential dread? But like banger again!
To low key be perfectly honest, with ‘Cry’, ‘Million Years’, ‘Try to feel my pain’, ‘Blood on the street’ and ‘Now its time’, - if they came on i couldn't tell you what the name of them were, again due to hours listened. I do like the flow, but I haven’t thought about any of them deeply. Basically this post is actually #6 June: Haim's new album ‘I Quit’ has been out for a week now and this is what I think of the first half of it (I like it btw). But what I will say is that all of it together is very very reminiscent of a really GREAT rom com from the early 2000s, think the Devil Wears Prada - like legit really good ones. ‘Spinning’ in particular sounds like a fashion show/ catwalk montage, Lizzie McGuire Movie / New York Minute (MK&A). My prediction is that movie ‘Materialists’ with Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Papa Pedro Pascal will surely feature at least two songs from this album and ideally most of them.
Anyways, I liked this album a lot. Pop off queens !
Here’s a list of exhibitions I went to this week and how long they’re running for:
Jorge Satorre, ‘Did I say I miss you? At Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, running until 6 July
I loved this, I thought this was really fun and satirical and I loved the drawings and the woven thorny sculpture along the metal frame. A great and sharp comment on capitalism and craft. – Read more here.
‘A Different Kettle of Fish Altogether’ at Fort Gallery (pop-up), running until 27 June at 18 Ormond Quay Upper
‘Sibathontisele / Let’s drip on them / Braon ar bhraon orthu’ by Owen Maseko at Project Arts Centre, running until 12 July.
‘Routes and realms’ by al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik at Chester Beatty until 7 September
Here’s some things I will be going to and am listing in case they’re closed by the next time I post a substack/IG/TikTok
‘€urodanc€’ at Pallas Projects until 5 July
‘What does it mean to know’ at Lab Gallery until 26 July
Here is the list of concerts that I will not be attending because they aren’t going to Dublin. (tf?)
Little Sims
Japanese breakfast
Haim
We’re holding out for an Olivia Dean arena announcement
Thanks for reading xx